Political Quotes

“Madam Speaker, I rise in support of the President's request to train vetted moderate Syrian rebels, as I believe it is only one step in the right direction and it is supported by military experts. Tremendous oversight is going to be necessary in this effort and, unfortunately, I fear, as do many experienced generals and military personnel, that it is part of a strategy that is insufficient to secure America's national security. The President's stated objective is to destroy ISIL; however, I believe this overall strategy and the means requested are not enough to meet this objective. The current strategy relies on U.S. airpower in support of local forces. This is not a counterterrorism effort, and to destroy ISIL it is necessary to have strong coordinated ground troops. The local ground forces the President is planning to rely on appear currently unready, and they will need to operate with a strong central command and control. The President's strategy does not provide for U.S. Special Forces in the backing of our ground troops, even though our military leaders have repeatedly suggested that exact recommendation. Our security is too important to base military strategy on political calculations. Our strategy must be firmly rooted in what is necessary in order to complete the mission and to ensure our security. From Clausewitz to Powell, military leaders have preached the necessity of decisive force. I served in Iraq.…”